Tire construction



" April 5, ma,

J. E. HALE 2313,52?

TIRE CONSTRUCT ION Filed Dec. 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY Apkfifl 5 19380 J E HALE 2,133,527

TIRE CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 28, 1937 ZSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR wmwE/jk/e BY ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 5, 1938 2,1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

2,113,527 TIRE CONSTRUCTION James E. Hale. Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 28, 1937, Serial No. 182,113' 6- Claims., (Cl. 152-14) This invention relates to tire constructions and areas. The added shearing resistance developed more especially it relates to the design or conin the muddy soil by the present tire, because figuration of the tread portion of a tire adapted of the tendency toward lateral discharge, greatly for heavy traction service, such as pneumatic facilitates traction through such areas with retires for tractors, road-graders and the like. duced disturbance of the sub-soil of the wet 5 -When tractors were first used for agricultural area. and other purposes, metal rims withlugs applied Whereas it was the objective of prior tractor thereto were devised to assure traction and to lugs and pneumatic tire treads for use on tracprevent slipping of the wheels with respect to an tors and the like, to provide a tread which would 10 earth medium. It was found that a single type have equal traction forward and backward, the of lug did not operate satisfactorily in the various present tire design has sacrificed to some extent kinds of earth conditions encountered in use the rearward traction in order to provide one and, therefore, it was necessary to design special which will have a greater forward traction coulugs for particular soil conditions. As a result, pied with a self-cleaning action while traveling a great many types of tractor lugs were designed forward. 15

andused, but heretofore there has been no de- A major object of the invention therefore is to sign of a tractor lug or a tire tread which would provide a resilient tire tread having a tread coninherently provide a self-cleaning action to eject figuration that a f rds p oved t action in a or prevent packing of dirt between the lugs or deformable or compactible medium,such as snow traction elements. It was common for the lugs sod, cover crop or slippery mud or earth.

on rigid steel tractor wheels to become so tightly Another object is to provide an improved tire packed with earth or snow as to substantially tread in which self-cleaning of the tread is facilinullify the normal action of the lugs. tated by the normal tendency of the tire to slip The above conditions also existed in tractors under tractive effort.

equipped with prior pneumatic tires, inasmuch Another object is to provide an improved tire as the tread was not designed to facilitate distread in which tread bars are so shaped, archarge of the material accumulated between the ranged, and their relative height and spacing are traction elements of the tire tread. The present so proportioned that the weight distribution over invention solves theproblem of providing a tire the portions of the tread facilitates self-cleaning for use on agricultural and other vehicles which and at the same time increases the shear resistwill continuously efiect a discharge of materials ance of the deformable or compactible traction from the tread to avoid clogging and thereby inmedium upon which the tire is operating. crease the traction emciency of the tire. Another object is to provide an improved tire Heretofore, it was also the objective and aim tread in which the tread bars are so shaped and in designing m tal lu s or tractor wh ls, and arrangedthat under slight slippage due to trac- 35 even tr ads f r umati ti s, t provide tractive effort, the tendency toward lateral discharge tion elements or treads which would, as nearly as of i r or compactible medium increases th Possible Positively ehmmate 5111 between the shearing resistance at the lateral marginal porperiphery of the wheel and the surface on which tions of the treat;

it was running. In these prior devices the de- Another object is to devise an improved tire 40 sign was based on the most favorable soil tractread in which the height, width, and spacing tion conditions. Such conditions of operation traction bars and their converging relationship prevau only during a very Small proportion of the with each other are such that the tire is capable actual operation of the tractor. Under practical farming conditions, often a 255 35 ggfi ggfi x ggf eflort in a de 45 field may be in proper condition for cultivation, except very small wet and muddy areas. This application is a continuation in part of Also, it may be necessary to pass through soft, my co'pendmg application serial 37,030 filed muddy areas in going to and from fields. Even August 1935- though it may be desirable to cultivate or work of the accompanying drawings: 50 the field, it may be impractical, due to the fact Figure 1 is a perspective 1' a i e w eel, that the tractor and implements cannot get and Pneumatic tire thereon constituting e through these soft areas. It it highly desirable embodiment of the invention; that sufiicient traction be available in order that Figure 2 is a section of the tire on the line 2-2 the tractor may be operated through the wet of Figure 1; 55

- Figure 3 is an enlarged scale section of the tire on the line 3-4 of Figure 1; and

Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views of modifications of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, in is a wheel of any known or preferred construction, and II is a pneumatic tire mounted thereon. The tire has a tread portion formed with obliquely disposed parallel ribs or bars l2, l2 that lie in opposite directions on opposite sides of the center line of the tire tread and have their outer ends disposed at the sides of the tire. The ribs I! on each side of the tire are of two different lengths and are disposed in alternation. The arrangement is such that a long and a short rib on one side of the tire intersect a long rib from the other side of the tire intermediate the ends of said last mentioned rib. There are no exposed points or rib-ends in the medial portion of the tread to become rapidly worn down by "wiping action upon the roadway. .I'he ribs or bars I2 define intervening recesses or grooves l3, l3, and the latter are wider than said ribs. The bars are preferably tapered and joined to the tread with a fillet, as shown in Figure 3. The sides of the bars may be straight or curved; it being understood that the shape may be such that the bars are individually stable. The shape shown reduces flex-cracking of the rubber and also facilitates cleaning. Also, the taper reduces the spadin'g" and increases the downward thrust component of the tractive effort.

Applicant has found that there is a definite relationship between the spacing of the ribs or bars 12 and the self-cleaning and traction characteristics of the tire, and that said characteristics are materially improved or enhanced when the said ribs or bars are spaced relatively farther apart than heretofore has been common practice. To this end the recesses or grooves i3 of applicant's tire are made wider than the intervening bars or ribs i2, as is most clearly shown in Figure 3. Proper tread bar height with respect to the spacing of the tread bars is essential in order to enable the bars to penetrate the earth medium upon which they are operating, to aiIord proper traction. If the bars are too close together, most of the weight is carried on the peripheral surface thereof and, therefore, in a loose earth medium there will not be sufiicient shear resistance afford ed between the bars. By increasing the width of the grooves between the bars, more and more of the weight is carried on the tire between the bars to increase the shear resistance. In order that the shearing resistance will not be readily overcome, the relative height of the bars has been increased in the present construction.

The height of the bars i2 is at least as great as the transverse dimension thereof. This feature combined with the fact that the grooves l3 are unobstructed and of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of the bars, results in a tire tread capable of exerting increased tractive effort by facilitating penetration of the bars into an underlying deformable or compactible medium such as snow, sod, cover crop, loose earth or slippery mud medium, and by aiding the discharge of any soft material accumulated in the grooves by slight slippage of the bars relative to such medium.

The present invention contemplates a flexible tire tread purposely designed so that the normal tendency to slip automatically facilitates the cleaning action. This cleaning action serves to increase traction, first, because it allows the bars I! to properly engage the earth medium, and secondly, because the lateral discharge against the sides of the impression or "trench of the tire in the earth medium under the slight slippage increases the shearing resistance at the lateral marginal portions of the tread and makes it possible to deliver greater drawbar pull.

The tire is so mounted upon the wheel that the bars converge in a common direction opposite to that in whichtractive eifort is desired. The relative height and spacing of the bars is such that the cleaning action is facilitated consistent with increased traction due to novel proportioni ng of the weight. distribution over the bars and the intervening grooves.

As the improved tire rolls and contacts the surface over which it is being operated, the lower side of the tire, due to the weight of the vehicle, will tend to flatten slightly and in so doing will cause the bars of the tread to penetrate the surface and to exert a squeem'ng force upon the displaced material which enters the grooves between the bars, and that as the vehicle moves forward and the previously flattened portion resumes its normal shape, the bars will tend to move apart and release any material which may have been held therein by adhesion. In the event that snow, or a clod of earth in the form of damp soil,

clay or mud, etc., remains in the grooves, the same will be laterally discharged when that portion of the tire next contacts the surface over which it is operating due to the slight slippage of the tire relatively to said surface and to the further fact that the action of any additional material entering the grooves tends to eject laterally the material already accumulated therein.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4, the tread portion of the tire I4 is formed with a circumferential series of bars having transversely extending medial portions I5, l5 and lateral portions l6, l6 disposed obliquely to the medial portions thereof and intervening recesses or grooves l1, l1 between said bars.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 5, the tire I8 is shown with a tread structure comprising parallel bars or ribs i9, i9 that are obliquely disposed with relation to the center line of the tread and extend to the sides of the tire, the ribs on one side of the center line of the tread being disposed at an angle to those on the other side thereof, and intersecting them in a manner to form a circumferential series of chevrons or V-shaped characters. There are similarly shaped recesses or grooves 20, 20 between adjacent ribs or bars Ill.

The design described has been found to be selfcleaning when the tire is so mounted upon a vehicle that the points of the chevrons point rearwardly when in contact with the ground. An ar-" row 2! may be placed on the side of the tire to indicate the proper direction of rotation when the tire is employed to tractive effort. It will be understood that the tire will be mounted in a reverse direction when used solely for braking purposes as on the front wheels of a rear-wheel-dr-ive vehicle. Similar means may be employed on the other embodiments of the invention if desired, to indicate the proper direction of turning.

Each embodiment described comprises the characteristic feature of the invention; namely, that the height of the ribs or bars is at least as great as their width, that the spaces between the tread ribs or bars are substantially wider,than the ribs or bars themselves, and that at least portions of the ribs or bars converge in a direction opposite to that in which maximum tractive ef- 2,113,527 It will be understood that referred to the transverse dimension of the bars l2 or to the width of the recesses of grooves I3, I intend that these dimensions be taken at the tread or peripheral portion of the tire.

Other modification may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-cleaning resilient tire having sides and a tread, said tread comprising a plurality of series of bars, the bars of each series being substantially parallel and spaced from each other circumferentially by grooves with the bars of one series extending toward the bars of the other series so that said bars converge toward each other in a direction opposite to that in which a tractive eifort is normally desired, the height of said bars being at least as great as the transverse dimension of said bars, said grooves being unobstructed and of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of said bars to increase tractive eifort'by facilitating penetration of said bars into an underlying deformable or compactible medium, and by aiding the discharge of any soft material accumulated in said grooves by slight slippage of said bars relative to said medium.

2. A self-cleaning pneumatic tire having sides and a flexible tread, said tread comprising a series of circumferentially spaced sets of ribs extending'obliquely from said sides toward the center line of said tire, and converging toward each other in a direction opposite to that in which a tractive effort is normally desired, each of said sets comprising a plurality of substantially parallel ribs spaced from each other by unobstructed grooves and at least one of the ribs of each of said sets extending across the center line of said tire, the height of said bars being at least as great as the transverse dimension of said bars, said grooves being of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of said ribs to increase tractive effort by facilitating penetration of said bars into of any soft material accumulated in said grooves by slight slippage of said bars relative to said medium.

3. A self-cleaning tire for motor vehicles having a flexible tread comprising a plurality of parallel bars having portions diverging outwardly from the center line of the tire, the height of said bars being at least as great as the transverse dimension of said bars, 1y spaced by unobstructed grooves of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of said bars to increase tractive effort by facilitating penetration of said bars into an underlying deformable or compactible medium, and by aiding the discharge of any soft material accumulated in said grooves by slight slippage of said bars relative to said medium. r

4. A self-cleaning tire for motor vehicles having a flexible tread comprising a plurality of bars having portions diverging outwardly relatively to the center line of the tire, said bars having points of juncture lying substantially on said center line, said bars being circumferentially spaced by unobstructed grooves of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of said bars, the height of said bars being at' least as great as the transverse dimension of said bars to increase tractive efiort by facilitating penetration of said bars into an underlying deformable or compactible medium, and by aiding the discharge of any soft material accumulated in said grooves by slight slippage of said bars relative to said medium.

5. A self-cleaning resilient tractor tire having a tread comprising a plurality of series of bars, the bars of each series being substantially parallel and spaced from each other circumferentially by grooves with the bars of one series extending toward the bars of the other series so that said bars converge toward each other in a direction opposite to that in which a tractive efiort is normally desired, the height of said bars being not less than the transverse dimension of said bars,-

said grooves being unobstructed and of a width substantially greater than the transverse dimension of said bars to increase tractive effort by facilitating penetration of said bars into theearth.

6. A self-cleaning tractor pneumatic tire having a flexible tread comprising a plurality of parallel bars having portions diverging outwardly from the center line of the tire, the height of said bars being not less than the transverse dimension of said bars, said bars being circumferentially spaced by grooves of a width substantiallygreater than the transverse dimension 01 said bars to increase tractive efl'ort by facilitating penetration of said bars into the earth.

JAMES E. HALE.

said bars being circumferential- 

